Archery is an Olympic sport in which athletes compete in archery accuracy. The winner in archery is the athlete or team that scores the most points according to the competition rules. Archery competitions are held between both men and women.
The history of the emergence and development of archery
It was not possible to establish the exact time of the appearance of the bow, as well as the place of its appearance. It is known that people used bows at the end of the Stone Age and used them for hunting as a weapon. Thanks to onions, people were able to get meat for themselves.
About 3 thousand years ago, the bow began to be used not only for hunting, but also as a weapon. Archers were highly prized as they could hit targets several hundred meters away. Later, bows were replaced by firearms, it was during this period that sports archery began to develop.
In 1900, the first official archery competition took place, and this happened at the second Olympic Games. Until 1972, this discipline was considered optional, in some years it was included in the program of the Olympic Games, and in others it was not. Despite the competition being held, there was no organization regulating archery. The International Archery Federation (FITA) was created only in 1931 in Poland, it later developed the rules for the competition.
In the mid-eighties, dueling duels were introduced, which were supposed to increase the entertainment of the competition. In 1988, team competitions were added to them. Since 2000, the rules of archery have been constantly changing, and every Olympic Games is held with changes in the program.
Archery rules
Archery competitions are held both outdoors and indoors. Shooting in competitions is carried out in series of 3 or 6 arrows. According to FITA standards, a 3-arrow shot is given 2 minutes and a 6-arrow shot 4 minutes.
In all competitions, qualification is first held, and then, among the remaining athletes, according to the Olympic system, the winner is drawn. This system is also relevant for the World and European Championships.
Archery targets FITA approved targets. Archery targets are made of paper with concentric circles of different colors depicted on it. Targets are attached to special shields, which are made of durable material that prevents arrows from going through. The size of the target depends on the competition distance. Inside the "top ten" there is another circle of half the diameter marked, it is necessary to resolve controversial situations of equality of points and to fix world records.
Archery distances
Indoors, shooting is carried out from a distance of 18, 30 or 50 meters (for men and women).
Outdoors, target distances are 30, 50, 70 and 90 meters for men and 30, 50, 60 and 70 meters for women. At the Olympic Games, archery is only carried out from a distance of 70 meters.
Equipment and equipment
The main piece of equipment, of course, is the bow. In official competitions under the auspices of FITA, two types of professional bows are used in target shooting:
- Shooting with a (traditional) classic bow (recurve bow). The pulling force of such a bow is about 15-20 kg. The arrow's flight speed reaches 240 km / h. This bow is used in the Olympic Games.
- Compound bow shooting. In such bows, a special mechanism is used, which provides the arrow with a more correct acceleration, and also facilitates the process of drawing the bow. Pulling force about 25-30 kg. The flight speed of an arrow from such a bow reaches 320 km / h.
A fully equipped bow usually weighs in the range of three and a half to four and a half kilograms.
Modern sport arrows are composite (tip, shaft, shank, plumage). For archers, adjusting arrows is very important. They must satisfy very many individual qualities, primarily the length of the arms. Arrows are stacked into a special arrow quiver.
A release is a trigger. With its help, the archer grabs the bowstring, and then, at the right time, releases it. The release minimizes the grip area of the bowstring, which in turn reduces its deformation at full stretch and thereby increases the stability of shooting.
Archery gaiter - bracers that protect the forearm of an archer from a bowstring strike.
Refereeing
The number of judges at the boards should not be less than three, usually one judge is appointed for 7 boards. The duties of the judges include.
As an Olympic discipline, archery has been declared for II Olympics in Paris in 1900. In 1920, due to disagreement on the adoption of universal rules for the conduct of competitions, archery was excluded from the program of the Olympic Games. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, they were again included in the Olympic program and since then shooting tournaments have been held at every Olympics, including the Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
With the exception of the 1900 and 1920 Olympics, tournaments were held not only between men, but also women. In this type of shooting sports, shooting from Olympic bows at paper targets (FITA) is performed, with circles of various colors, strictly designated size and configuration, fixed to the shields, at an angle of inclination of 10-15 degrees. Since 1972, archers have played 4 sets of awards.
Bow for competition at the olympics
The construction of the Olympic class bow is the same as the traditional English bow, with some improvements.
The bow design is collapsible and consists of:
- Bowstrings
- Handles
- Sight
- Stabilizer
Shooting is done with arrows, the length of which is determined individually, according to the physical data of the athlete-archer. For shooting, they use modernized bows made of ultra-modern fiberglass. Bow arrows are made of duralumin or high-strength carbon fiber reinforced plastics. String made of woven polymeric elastic fibers of extra strength. The pulling force of a sports bow for men is 22 kg, for women - up to 15 kg. An arrow released from such a bow flies at a speed of up to 240 km / h.
General Rules for Archery at the Olympic Games
At the qualifying stage, individual and team championships are played. In the future, tournaments are held by three archers who drop out of the competition in stages after defeat. At each stage, athletes shoot 12 arrows at targets located at a distance of 70 meters. The 16 best teams advance to the 1/8 finals, etc. elimination until the final, where the winner is determined.
The aim of archery is to hit the smallest inner rings on the targets with arrows. FITA with a circle diameter of 122 centimeters. The target circle is divided into 10 rings. For the defeat of the ring in the center, 10 points are awarded, for subsequent rings - minus one for increasing their diameter. There is a circle in the center ring, designated as X10, which also counts for 10 points.
Archery competitions are held on a mowed grass lawn. Tournaments are held in the morning or in the evening, and the shells on the lawn are set so that the sun's rays do not blind the eyes of the archers.
Any interested archer who has a license from the Russian Archery Federation, obtained according to the results of his performance in shooting tournaments in the four years preceding the Olympics, can take part in the Olympic Games.
Athletes archers at the Paralympic Games
For the first time, disabled athletes competed in the archery competition in Stoke Mandeville in the summer of 1948, held in parallel with the Summer Olympics in London. Like other sports, archery was one of the most effective rehabilitation methods for disabled veterans returning from World War II. The 1948 tournament was attended by 16 disabled military personnel, among whom there were two women.
Since that time, archery has become one of the favorite sports for people with disabilities. The development of technologies and materials made it easier to use bows, making them accessible to the most hopeless patients who wished to return to an active and fulfilling lifestyle.
Archery competitions in the Summer Olympics first appeared at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and continued until the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp (except for the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm), after which they were canceled, then resumed from the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and since then have been included in the program of each subsequent Games. Competitions have always been held among both men and women (except for the Games of 1900 and 1920, where only men competed). In this sport, 4 sets of awards are played. The central governing body of archery as a sport in the world is FITA (Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc - International Archery Federation (FR)).
FITA (Federation internationale de tir al, arc) - International Federation of Archery, founded in 1931, unites 140 national federations (2008), headquarters - Lausanne, Switzerland, President - Ugur Erdener (Turkey) (official language - English and French).
EMAU (European and Mediterranean Archery Union) - European and Mediterranean Archery Union. Founded in 1988.
Archery Federation of Russia - President Vladimir Nikolaevich Yesheev.
Moscow Archery Federation - President Vladimir Alekseevich Selivanov.
The most common international disciplines in which the Olympic Games, World and European Championships are held is shooting at FITA targets from standard distances, which are discussed in the article. Less common types are field shooting, skiark (archery biathlon), target shooting, vertical target shooting, which are also under the auspices of FITA. FITA was established in 1931, and the world championships have also been held since 1931. By the mid-1950s, the standard M1 and M2 exercises had developed, which were included in the program of the largest competitions.
Archery has been an Olympic sport since 1900. In 1900, 1904, 1908 and 1920, the Games program included various non-standard disciplines (shooting from 50, 60, 80 yards, and others). Since 1924, this sport was excluded from the program, due to the lack of general rules, and returned from the 1972 Games with the M2 discipline in the individual championship.
In the USSR, archery has become a popular sport since the 1960s. In 1971, Emma Gapchenko became the world champion for the first time; large centers for the development of this sport appeared in Moscow, Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Transbaikalia. The Soviet athletes achieved the greatest success at the Olympic Games in Moscow, where Ketevan Losaberidze became the champion in the women's individual championship.
Since the mid-1980s, new rules have been introduced in archery designed to add entertainment and dynamism - dueling matches according to the Olympic system. Since 1988, team competitions have been added to the program of the Olympic Games. In the 1990s and 2000s, the rules are constantly changing. After the 2008 Olympics, further changes are planned to bring archery closer to biathlon. Scoring will be done on a hit-and-miss basis.
The strongest archers in the 1950-1980 years were part of the US team. Currently, the leadership in this sport belongs to athletes from South Korea, USA, China, Italy.
In the measured life of archers, a hot time comes. Time to give away tickets to the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London. The maximum quota for the country is three men and three women. And winning these licenses does not look like an impossible task for the Russians, even if three years ago in Beijing ours performed in an incomplete composition. The balance of power in archery is constantly changing, as are the rules of the game.
The main qualifying tournament will be held on July 2-10 in Turin, following its results the 8 best teams for men and women will be selected for the Games. In June next year, the so-called recruitment will take place - a total of 12 teams will compete at the Olympics, and the hosts of the competition will receive a guaranteed place. In total - 64 participants: 32 men and 32 women. In addition, three continental personal quotas will be played for at the 2012 European Championships in Amsterdam. In a word, there will be more than enough opportunities for archers to fight for licenses. However, in comparison with the previous Olympic cycle, the qualification system has undergone radical changes.
Their essence is as follows. If the whole team fails to win the right to participate in the Games, only one athlete from a given country will be able to compete in each individual discipline. In all likelihood, the innovations were introduced in order to expand the geography of the competition. The task of officials is to reach the largest number of countries and participants.
The specifics of shooting in even and odd years are very different. The selection for the Games this year is held according to the old M1 system, which provides for shooting from 90, 70, 60, 30 meters for men and from 70, 60, 50, 30 for women. Well, in the next season, all tournaments will be held according to the Olympic system, which is shooting from 70 meters with elimination. In the qualification of the team competition, each of the three athletes fires 72 shots. According to the results shown, 8 teams are scattered into the quarterfinal grid, and then the winner is identified according to the Olympic system (one on one - 8 arrows for each athlete). In the individual championship in qualification, the archers also make 72 shots and, according to the results obtained, 64 participants are scattered into the grid of the 1/32 finals, and then the best in duel fights is determined - everyone has the right to 12 shots.
It is extremely difficult to switch from one system to another, - says Vladimir Yesheev, President of the Russian Federation of Archery, bronze medalist of Seoul-1988. - Let's say, when shooting from 90 meters, you need to have a strong bow. This, for example, is used by the bronze medalist of the Beijing Olympics Bair Badenov, who has recently been pursued by injuries. His bow weighs 23 kilograms. The lower the trajectory, the higher the hit density. It is difficult for young men with weak bows to compete with stronger men at a long distance.
As for the adherence to the M1 system, it is rather a tribute to tradition, after all, George IV drew such a target. However, the International Federation of Archery (FITA) is seeking to change the rules in order to level the differences between the two systems. Exercise M1, it is possible, will sink into oblivion following the results of the work of the International Congress in Turin. Although shooting at only one distance is also a double-edged sword. Who is interested in watching the shooting from one line from morning till night?
- It is known that a fundamentally new scoring formula has been developed since last year.
Now the showdown between the two archers is called a match. Before, after all, as it was - three shots were fired, and they can be free. One scored 30 points, the other, let's say - 20 - and the leader will no longer catch up. But according to the new system, 2 points are awarded for a win in a period, for a defeat, respectively, - 0. And if both hit twenty-five, the score on the scoreboard is one-one. This system is more understandable for viewers. Dramaticism appears. But in fact, sometimes it turns out, like in tennis, where you can lead 5: 0, but lose 5: 7. In archery, if you are leading 4: 0, the next victory is required to complete the duel. At such a moment, venerable champions are often overwhelmed by the desire to finish off the opponent, which often allows him to even level the score. And in a shootout, only one shot is given: the one who gets closer to the center wins.
- Another fresh trend of FITA is the inclusion of mixed mixed in the program of the World Cups and Championships. Thus, in the framework of most tournaments, five sets of awards are now played in the classic and compound bow.
Mixed is a general trend of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to take at least the same biathlon, the Olympic program of which was recently replenished with a mixed relay. The head of FITA, Professor Ugur Erdener, who also holds the post of vice-president of the IOC, defended the bow for many years: after all, some were eager to remove team competitions from the Games program. And today there is already talk of including a compound onion. It turns out that mixed is the future policy of the IOC, which can be turned to after the election of the head of this organization in 2013.
- The first question that arises after studying the protocols of the last major international starts is why Balzhinima Tsyrempilov, a four-time European champion and a participant in four Olympics, is not performing. Has a conflict erupted between the leadership of the Russian bow and the titled shooter?
- There is one subtle point here: Tsyrempilov is very strong individually, but he has no command qualities, - Yesheev explains. - But quotas must be won by a team, and in this aspect there is a certain conflict of interests. Please note: in an individual tournament, an athlete makes three shots in two minutes, and in a team tournament - in one. Experienced shooters find it incredibly difficult to rebuild in a short time. In addition, recently Tsyrempilov has not been performing well enough. But we have a lot of young people, and they have every chance of tormenting the leaders: unlike boxing, our licenses are not personal, but given to the country.
Dmitry Okunev
Russian national team 2011 in classic bow
Men. Bair Badenov, Alexander Kozhin, Alexey Belov, Balikto Tsyrempilov, Balzhinima Tsyrempilov, Sergey Ryzgenov.
Women. Natalia Erdynieva, Inna Stepanova, Ksenia Perova, Anna Bomboeva, Tatiana Segina, Tatiana Borodai.
The Russian national team consists of Buryat archers
Archery World Cups began to be played relatively recently, since 2007. And immediately our eminent Balzhinima Tsyrempilov celebrated the victory, and his niece Natalya Erdineeva became the third prize-winner.
Within the framework of the World Cup, four stages are held, at each of which points are awarded to the 16 best athletes. By the sum of the four stages, the eight strongest archers are identified, who go to the final stage. This year, in addition to Porec (Croatia), the competition will be held in Turkish Antalya (June 6-12), American Ogden (August 2-6) and Chinese Shanghai (September 5-10). The final of the World Cup is scheduled for September 24-25, it will be held in Istanbul (Turkey).
Our archers in Porec justified the high confidence of the coaching staff of the national team with interest. Natalia Erdineeva, Inna Stepanova and Anna Bomboeva were stronger than archers from Switzerland (216: 202), Spain (207: 205) and India (200: 191). And in the final we met with Korean archers. I must say, after the starting circle, all Korean women occupied the leading positions. As a result, the Buryat athletes lost to the leaders in the final with a score of 207: 220. They became silver medalists in the team competition in Olympic classic bow shooting.
In the meantime, all our best archers are preparing for the most important starts of the Olympic four years. From May 30 to June 4, the Russian championship will be held in the capital of Buryatia, at which the composition of the Russian national team will be known. Subsequently, they should compete at the World Championships in Turin, Italy, where they will compete for tickets to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.